Ralph Nader on Immigration

Migrant workers are exploited; crack down on employers

Illegal immigration showed their differences. Baldwin wants to shut the borders & crack down on illegal immigrants. Barr wants to open the borders to anyone who wants to cross, but screen travelers. Nader emphasized how migrant workers are exploited;
he said U.S. policies toward Latin America hurt economies there and displace workers, that a crackdown should focus on employers, not migrants; and that migrant workers have to have the same rights as Americans, or else U.S. labor standard will erode.

Address immigration as part of worldwide economic justice

Q: Briefly describe Nader’s position on Immigration Policy.

A: “Immigration is a challenging issue that must be addressed in a more cohesive way. We need to address economic justice in the US and the world and recognize the basic human rights
of all people,” Nader says. “The long term solution to immigration is reducing the rich poor divide between the United States and other nations by peacefully supporting democratic movements.”

H1B visas in US cause “brain drain” in Third World

Briefly describe Nader’s position on Immigration Policy.

A: Ralph Nader has stated that exploiting immigrant workers puts a downward pressure on US labor wages and standards. A $10 minimum wage would open many of these jobs to unemployed
American workers. As for the H1B visas, the US should stop the “brain draining” of highly skilled people in the Third World who are desperately need to develop their own economies.

Don’t criminalize the border; but no open border either

Q. What is your stance on numeric caps for legal immigration and/or quotas for specific countries for immigration, and whether there should be amnesties for illegal immigrants?

A. The first stage for our immigration policy is stop supporting
oligarchs, dictatorships, authoritarian regimes that drive people to leave their native lands out of economic desperation or political repression. Lots of people from Mexico and Central America would now be in those countries, not in this country, if
they had a decent chance in a democratic society to have an adequate standard of living. We cannot have open borders. That’s a totally absurd proposition. It would depress wages here enormously, and tens of millions of people from all levels, including
scientists and workers, would be pouring into this country. One way is to provide work permits for people who come in and do work for short periods of time that Americans don’t want to do instead of criminalizing the border.

Source: John Ellis, The Fresno (CA) Bee
, Oct 22, 2000

Guest workers OK, with labor standards

Q. Do you support a guest worker program?

A. Yes, under work permits, so everything is above board. So they are not exploited. Right now, employers have the best of both worlds. They exploit workers, they make huge profits, and they escape
prosecution. Farm labor, whether American or unlawful immigrants, don’t have the protection under labor laws that industrial workers have. The idea is to bring all farm labor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Source: John Ellis, The Fresno (CA) Bee
, Oct 22, 2000

Support democracy abroad so fewer will immigrate

Q: Describe your immigration policy.

A: We need work permits for people who come in this country and do work, as in farm areas, instead of criminalizing the process. Second, a foreign policy that sides with workers and peasants for a change
in democracy, instead of dictatorships and oligarchies, will reduce enormously the pressure of people under economic pressure and political repression from coming across the border. Most people don’t want to leave their native land. But there’s another
immigration issue, which is the brain drain. Silicon Valley, trying to get more computer specialists, and others trying to get physicians from other countries in the Third World that desperately need them. We’ve got to stop being a hog for the skilled
people abroad. There’s an African-American group that just started protesting Silicon Valley’s H-1B visa, pressure on Congress, saying there are African-Americans who are trained or could be trained to meet these jobs in the computer industry.

Immigrants don’t come for welfare; restore safety net

So-called welfare reform at the federal level has changed national policy from a statutory mandate to the states for child sustenance to a mandate for its limitation. Most severely affected are children of legal immigrants. The evidence is overwhelming
that immigrants do not come to California for welfare. In fact, few ever claim benefits in the first one, two or three years after arrival. But, those children whose parents do fall on hard times are often unprotected.

Source: Statement on Child Poverty
, Jun 26, 2000

Don’t blame immigrants for social and economic problems

Nader supports the Green Party Platform, which states:Our nation was built with a rich tapestry of immigrants and we must continue to respect the potential contributions and RIGHTS of our new immigrants.

Preferential quotas based on
race, class, and ideology should be abandoned for immigration policies that promote fairness, NON-DISCRIMINATION and family reunification.

We find particular attention should be given those minorities who are political exiles and refugees, including
Russian Jews, mid-East Kurds, Tibetans and Haitians.

Our relationship with our neighbor to the south, Mexico, needs to be given added attention. Our border relations and reciprocal economic opportunities should be a central concern of government that
is looking to improved economic, environmental and social conditions for both peoples.

We oppose those who seek to divide us for political gain by raising ethnic and racial hatreds, blaming immigrants for social and economic problems.